Letters From Durban: Cardiac Kids!

What do the French and US teams have in common? Fortunately, nothing. We are booking flights to the next round and they are on the plane home.

When a tie wasn’t good enough the never-say-die US attitude propelled the team forward and the result was a dramatic finish by Captain America, Landon Donovan. The 1-0 win was good enough to win the group over England!

I watched the game with my wife Renee, who flew in yesterday. As you can imagine, it was great to see her and will only enhance the rest of my stay having someone to share my experiences with. We watched the game at our hotel and after the game, the US team was the talk of the hotel. The South Africans hold the US team in high regard, mainly because of our Confederations Cup performance last year and our three results haven’t done anything to tarnish the image.

Opening with a tie against England, one of the pre-tournament biggies … great start!

A come from behind 2-2 win (sorry, tie) in which the fighting spirit was the envy of the tournament, only added to the interest/belief in the US team.

And tonight, Donovan’s added time goal to clinch a spot in the next round, has left the South Africans scratching their heads wondering why the US mystique didn’t rub off on the Bafana Bafana.

Our performances haven’t produced anything from a style, system or tactical standpoint which will be analyzed and copied for years to come, but in a tournament which had many teams (many African teams, England, France…) fail to inspire with their performances, the US boys have done our country proud. Several teams spoke in advance of games about bringing that fighting spirit, the US team actually did!

South Africans make proud exit — French are toast…

The Sowetan cover which read, “Bafana exit World Cup with gallant win over France — Way to go boys,” summed up the mood in South Africa. “Beaten but not disgraced” and “A courageous win over France” were two other headings as well as a “Walking tall” photo caption on top of a picture of Siphiwe Tshabalala.

My wife and I watched the game at the beachfront Fan Park with an estimated 25,000 South African fans who relived the highlights into the night. The massive crowd held belief until the bitter end and even after they were eliminated they held their heads high as they outplayed and beat the French team. Although they were the first host team not to advance out of the group stage, a win, tie and loss at least carried a measure of respect.

The French on the other hand…

I hate to jump on the bandwagon and kick the French while they are down, but it is so much fun. They have had their day in the sun with some impressive teams over the years … all of which are a distant memory from the 2010 version.

If they had played poorly but played for each other and left it all on the field, it might have been different. Obviously, that wasn’t the case. If their performances weren’t bad enough, and they were bad, then their off the field disputes reached almost a comical level. I was waiting for Borat to pop into their camp and tell us he was making a new film. Today I heard that Thierry Henry has a meeting with the French President on Thursday to discuss what happened. I’m not sure what to hold onto from the French World Cup experience. There are so many to choose from, especially on the heels of their suspicious qualification:

Do I hold onto their awful, uninspired performances on the field?</p

>Do I hold onto the way too public spat between Anelka and coach Domenech?

Do I hold onto the vision of French and African youngsters who were asking why the team got back on the bus instead of practicing?

Do I hold onto the team director quitting on live tv, Anelka being sent home, or Evra being banned as captain?

I will probably hold onto the last image (hopefully) which was South African coach Parreirra, a veteran of 6 World Cups, tugging on Domenech’s jacket as he refused to shake his hand, all which was being captured on live tv.

I actually don’t wish this type of chaos on any soccer player, coach or nation, but it was in their control and will provide the rest of us with an example of how things can go wrong. Horribly wrong…

South Korean and Nigeria impress — the coach in me thinks South Korea will be ready for Uruguay…

The 2-2 tie with Nigeria was an exciting game from start to finish. It didn’t hurt we sat at half field, 10 rows up. I keep saying there isn’t a bad seat in the stadium, but I’m hoping not to find out. The game was action-packed, goals, intensity — essentially everything you would expect from a knockout game not involving the French team. The South Koreans impressed me in a very profound way. I can’t recall the last time I saw a team at this level play that hard, closing down every pass, sprinting to recover when beaten, challenging every loose ball. The South Koreans discipline was evident from the start and a joy to watch. Not that the Nigerian team didn’t possess qualities which impressed as well (skill, passion, creativity), but on the heels of the French debacle I was in need of a team which reconnected me to the passion of the game. A hardworking and unified team, with everyone pointed in the same direction — something you could point out to young players in trying to establish the importance of hard work and playing like a team.

It wasn’t a perfect game, and a few defensive lapses concern me about Korea’s ability to take on the top teams. Having said that, I think they will wear down Uruguay and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit to see South Korea in the quarterfinals and depending on the draw, even beyond. But, again, I was in the stadium live, and the atmosphere of the over 60,000 fans, the emotions of seeing my first game involving an African team, and seeing my first game with my wife, may have gotten the best of me … that in itself is the beauty of the World Cup. It is called World Cup fever — I’ve got it bad — and South Korea and Nigeria were just the medicine I needed to make sure I keep it.

After the game, we returned to the hotel to find the South Korean team staying about 50 yards away. The media was camped out, waiting for interviews and everyone was in great spirit. I stuck around, managed to give an interview on South Korean tv celebrating their team, and joined in with my iflip (which has recorded 518 short videos and counting) for a few players interviews. It has become a familiar scene — hordes of media from around the world with their high tech equipment — and me with my iflip.

Up next is Brazil vs. Portugal and my wife and I will be in the stadium watching what is being billed as the top game in the group play. Does it get any better?

Chris Ziemer is currently the Director of Athletics at Sonoma Academy. He will be in South Africa for 35 days, posting items on World Cup 2010: The Beautiful Blog.